Marlow Platts employee with ‘motor cars in my blood’ to bid garage farewell after 46 years

A long-serving Platts garage employee is set to bid farewell to the ‘special’ Marlow company he has worked with for almost half a century.

Jon Sloper – who was just 16 years old when he started as an apprentice mechanic in the late-1970s – has helped fine-tune thousands of cars for the West Street-based garage.

As he prepares to take his foot off the pedal of a 46-year-long career with Platts, to spend more time with his family, he reflects on a career he has ‘enjoyed so much’.

“I’ve got motor cars in my blood,” Jon, 61, told the Advertiser.

“My father was involved with motor vehicles as well – as was my grandfather – so I grew up with a spanner in my hand so to speak, knowing one end of the engine from another.”

“I’ve felt very lucky to have been able to continue in the trade.”

As a youngster, the Fawley ‘born and bred’ boy was snapped up as an apprentice mechanic by long-running Platts owner Jim Platt in June 1979.

Jon Sloper (R) with Jim Platt.

Platts of Marlow was founded in 1925 and has been run by the Platts family throughout its history.

“It was an exciting time,” Jon said, adding:

“Up till then it was just kind of jobs in the countryside and what have you during school holidays,”

“But this was my first experience of a proper paid job.”

Under the wing of a senior technician at the company, Jon learned the nuts and bolts of his trade under the bonnets of Austins, Fords, Morrises, MGs, Mini Coopers, Rovers and Triumphs.

After nearly 12 years in the workshop, he stepped in for a staff member on holiday to help at the garage’s busy front desk.

“I did that, and I never went back into the workshop because I enjoyed it so much,” Jon said.

Jon, who lives in Marlow, would go on to help Platts open a Hyundai franchised garage in High Wycombe and another Peugeot dealership.

He has latterly worked in the Marlow garage for Platts’ after-sales team.

With work on thousands of cars – old and new - under his belt, Jon still has a soft spot for the vintage vehicles that Platts’ loyal customers trust the garage staff to maintain.

Jon said: “Because Marlow’s quite an affluent area we do get to see quite a lot of classic cars and as I’ve matured, we still get the old cars coming in which I tend to appreciate more.

“I’d rather see an old-leaded engine – the smell of the engine in the workshop, which probably isn’t very good for us these days.

“But it always sparks an interest to see those coming in.”

Jon said he was leaving Platts to spend more time with his family, including his three daughters: Jessica, Amelia, and Hannah.

He added: “People don’t tend to stick with companies as long as I have these days, but it’s been lovely to see how the company has grown in a successful way over those years.

“I’ve been part of that – that feels quite special for me.”

Jim Platt said: "It has been a real pleasure to have had Jon working with us for so many years, seeing him develop from a young school boy, through to management and now eventually now approaching retirement.

"Through the years Jon has come to know many of our long-standing customers, they will miss his smile and friendly greeting.

"Jon will be missed by all his colleagues, but we would like to wish him well whatever the future holds."